


An Unearthly Temp

by Ray_Writes



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-24 00:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16169960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ray_Writes/pseuds/Ray_Writes
Summary: An old man and his granddaughter briefly settle on Earth after traveling through space and time, only to run into trouble with a couple humans from the local school. A story everyone has heard.But in another universe, things are slightly different.





	An Unearthly Temp

**Author's Note:**

> So a while back, I wrote a oneshot with Time Lord Wilf, and then this plot bunny happened...enjoy!

Jenny Smith arrived for university in her dad’s car the same as any day. She knew that wasn’t entirely usual, but neither was going to the same university that a parent worked at, so she’d given up on fitting in right out of the gate.

She’d thought about going away, but she’d worried. Her poor dad would lose his head if it wasn’t attached. It wasn’t as if she was going into his department, either, so he couldn’t hover too much.

And it had always been the two of them against the world. Jenny has never quite gotten the hang of making friends; she was too tough for the girls and too girly for the boys, apparently. Her dad blames himself, as he wasn’t exactly the most normal bloke in the world. He could talk a person’s ear off, but he couldn’t quite seem to hang onto people once they’d passed out of his day-to-day life.

At any rate, they had each other, and that had always been enough. Jenny didn’t know it, though, but that was all about to change.

She entered the main office ahead of her dad, planning to drop off her heavier books for her afternoon class in his office for safe-keeping. The same as any day.

Then she looked up and spotted a new woman at the secretary’s desk for her dad’s department. “Oh, hello!” The woman had red hair and wore a bright purple cardigan.

She looked up with a start as well and stood with her hand held out. “Professor Smith! Brilliant to meet you!”

“Er, no. Sorry, I’m just his daughter.”

“I would be Professor Smith,” her dad said, extending his hand.

The woman took it and pumped it up and down. “Oh, sorry! Of course you are. Yeah, you’re the picture of professor, aren’t you? All skinny legs, suit and tie. Do they not have a meal plan for the faculty?”

Her dad looked down at himself, seeming unsure how to respond. “Um.”

“Donna, Donna Noble, that’s me,” the woman added. “They’ve sent me over to sit at the desk here. The temp, that’s what they called it.”

“Oh, that’s right! They did say there’d be someone new this week. Well, good to meet you. This is Jenny, my daughter. She’s a student here, too, so she’ll be in and out a lot.”

She turned to Jenny with a smile. “You go to school with your dad? That’s so sweet! I’m keeping house with my grandad, myself. He likes to get around, so we’ve been all over the uni — um, the universities. Around the world,” Miss Noble said, twirling her finger around in a circle.

“A traveler! Well, that’s brilliant. I’ve always been meaning to go more places,” her dad admitted. 

Jenny felt a pang of regret; there’d been plenty of research trip offers, grants and the like, but he’d turned them all down not wanting to disrupt her childhood. Jenny wouldn’t have minded, but he’d been firm about wanting her to have as normal a life as possible, even with only the one parent.

“And how long will you be with us?” Her dad was asking.

“I don’t really know. I hope it’s long. I’ve been liking it a lot here, so far.”

“Well, I hope you continue to.” Her Dad was grinning ear to ear, and it seemed to Jenny that he rather liked this Miss Noble. Unfortunately, a glance at her watch showed the time was getting a bit late.

“Dad, can you unlock your office for me?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, got to be getting on.” He nodded and stepped back from the desk, walking backwards as he continued,

“Well, I’m sure we’ll be getting to know each other as it goes along, Miss Noble.”

“I’m sure. Oh, Professor Smith!”

Jenny just managed to snag his elbow to keep him from crashing into his own door.

“Ah, right,” her dad said with an awkward laugh. He gave Miss Noble a cheery wave and unlocked his door. Jenny stepped in, set her books down, and kissed her dad on the cheek goodbye before heading out.

“Have a good day,” she told Miss Noble as she passed the desk.

“You too, sweetheart.”

She was nice, if a little odd. A rather perfect match to her dad, really.

God, she hoped he didn’t screw this up.

—-

Over the next couple weeks, John found himself spending more and more time with Miss Noble. She showed him some of her souvenir collection — “I always try to stop in a little shop or something wherever we go, just to have something to remember it by.” “That’s brilliant. I love a little shop.” — and didn’t mind his idle chatter. She could chatter back near twice as fast, as a matter of fact.

She was perfectly sweet and polite, except when she wasn’t. One morning he came out of his office when he heard a raised voice and found her shouting down the phone.

“And that goes double for your mother!” Miss Noble hung up and pushed her bangs back, catching sight of him in the corner of her eye. “Oh! Professor Smith! I’m so sorry, but they’re saying the copier’s still broken.”

“Ah, well, the copiers are notoriously difficult,” he replied. “We’ll get on without it.”

He wondered sometimes if that rougher way she had was some of her true self poking through the mask of professionalism. John rather loved it. Having raised Jenny all on his own as well as having countless student charges, he’d always felt the need to be a model citizen. It was refreshing to see someone who could be so unrestrained.

“So what is it that you teach?” She asked one day out of the blue.

He blinked. “You didn’t ask what department you were in when you got the job?”

“It all sort of happened rather fast,” she said.

“Well, I teach history.”

“History,” she repeated.

“Yep,” he said, popping the p on the end. “I know it’s not one of the more exciting subjects. Or considered all that useful outside academia—”

Miss Noble shook her head. “History’s brilliant. My Gramps says the only thing humans never learn is their own history. There’s always been history. I mean, if you think about it, we’re living history right now.”

“That’s what I’m always telling the students.” John grinned and leaned both elbows on her desk. He fancied himself rather in love with this woman. “History’s what you make of it.”

Miss Noble hummed in agreement, then was quiet for a time. It looked as though she was deciding whether or not to say something.

“I’ve been interested in seeing them. Lessons.”

He straightened up slightly. “What, you’ve never been?”

Miss Noble shook her head. “I’ve been moving around a lot. Never really had the time to just settle in somewhere.”

“Well, that won’t do at all,” John said. “Look, you can come by one of my classes. Sit in the back, see how you like it.”

“You’re sure? I don’t want to be a bother to the kids.”

“You wouldn’t be in the least. Really, I insist. It’s never too late to learn.”

She bit her lip as she thought it over. John tried not to watch her worry it with her teeth. But then she smiled so dazzlingly bright John had to blink to clear his head.

“Then I’d love to! Oh, this is  _ brilliant _ !”

He laughed with her, a bit giddy at having made her so happy. 

Miss Noble showed up the next day five minutes before his last class and went straight to a seat in the back. Unless he was mistaken, she was practically bouncing in her seat as the lecture hall slowly filled with students.

He’d prepared a good one on the off chance she had decided to sit in today, and so he started class promptly, wanting to get as much in as possible. Things were moving along nicely the first twenty-odd minutes, but that’s where it started to get strange.

“Now, no one knows for certain what became of—”

There was a cackling laugh near the back of the hall. He turned around.

It was Miss Noble, who stopped abruptly. “Oh, sorry.”

“Something wrong, Miss Noble?”

“ _ No _ , nothing,” she said, one hand held up in front of her as though swearing an oath. “You carry right on.”

He cleared his throat. “Right. So, as I was saying, no one knows what became of these early settlers. There are a few prevailing theories.”

There came an odd muffled sound, like a giggle behind pressed lips. Sure enough, Miss Noble appeared to be hiding another strange bout of mirth.

John could feel the tips of his ears burning, and it only got worse as a handful of students began chancing glances back at Miss Noble and then murmuring to each other. Continuing the lecture seemed a valiant effort on his part after that, though he wondered if any of it got through to anyone. At the least, he was grateful for the ringing of the bell that signified the end of their time.

He packed up his things, only looking up when he was sure everyone else had gone.

Except Miss Noble was standing there, watching him. She had a big smile on her face. “That was lovely!”

“Really? It didn’t seem to impress you much.”

“No, you were brilliant, honest. It’s not your fault. I mean, from a twenty-first century perspective you’ve got it spot on—”

“ _ Sorry _ ?”

Her mouth snapped shut and she stared at him with wide eyes for a moment. “Um. Forget that! Don’t know what I’m saying half the time. It’s just nonsense what comes out of my mouth, really don’t even listen to it.”

“But I do. I want to. I mean—” John stopped and cleared his throat. “I like spending time with you. Even if I don’t understand half of the things you come up with. And I’d like to spend more time with you outside of the University, if that’s alright with you.

“Oh, John,” she sighed, and it sounded like music. Her eyes were welling up and the smile on her lips was a sad one. “I’d love that. Really, I would. But I- I can’t.”

His hopes plummeted. “Was that not on? I wouldn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I just thought—”

“No, no, it’s not you, really. It’s- it’s me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That wouldn’t just be straight from a film, would it?”

“They’re very helpful,” she defended. “Especially with slang and the like, but- but that’s not the point. The point is I’m not the right woman for you.”

“Don’t I have a say in who the right woman for me is?”

“Course you do, but you don’t  _ know _ me, John.”

“That’s sort of the point of asking you out. I’d like to know you.” Somehow she still could amuse him even when he wanted nothing more to curl up in a ball and cry.

“I can’t. Please don’t ask again.”

“Sorry.”

“Oh, don’t apologize. Not your fault,” she repeated. “I should, um, I should go.”

He had no idea what to say, and merely watched as she walked from the lecture hall. John shouldered his bag and trudged back to his office.

Jenny was waiting in the visitor’s chair in front of his desk when he got back.

John heaved a sigh, glad he hadn’t mentioned his plans to his daughter before having them shot down. “Ready to go?”

They’d been running late that morning and all the spots in the lot had been taken, so he’d had to park a few streets away. He led the way down Totters Lane, Jenny’s bag slung over one shoulder and his rucksack over the other. He’d been in the habit of carrying her things ever since she was little and continued to cling stubbornly to it despite her protests of not being a kid anymore.

“So, how was your day?”

“Fine. You?”

“Oh, just fine,” he said. He didn’t think he was quite ready to talk about his recent rejection and hoped Jenny wouldn’t push if she detected his low mood.

“Hey dad, isn’t that Miss Noble?”

“Don’t point,” he chided gently, even as his eyes followed in the direction she’d indicated. It was indeed Miss Noble across the street, hard to miss with that brilliant hair swaying side to side with her purposeful stride. Although, as that stride carried her straight up to a wooden gate which read  _ I.M. Noble, Scrap Merchant _ , he had to wonder just what she was doing going to a place like that. She glanced to her right and left before pushing the door open and slipping inside.

“What on Earth? Wait here, Jenny.”

“No way, I’m coming with you.”

They looked both ways before darting across the lane and slipping in through the gate the way Miss Noble had only just done.

He just caught sight of her disappearing through the door of some old box, one of the ones the police used to use by the sign on it. They’d all been decommissioned by the time he’d been born, dumped in junkyards like this one.

“What’s she doing?” Jenny asked.

“I’ve no idea,” said John. He walked up to the box. “Miss Noble? Is everything alright?”

There was no answer, but she had to have heard him. The wood wasn’t that thick. But when he tried the door, it wouldn’t budge.

“Miss Noble!”

“Hey now, what’s all the racket?”

Jenny yelped and he whirled around at the unexpected voice. An old man stood behind them, short with a bit of scruff. He had a checkered shirt and jumper on along with a red woolen cap despite the evening being quite warm.

“Er, sorry. Are you I. M. Noble? We don’t mean to trespass,” said John. “Have you got a key to this?”

“You can’t go in there. That’s my box.”

John was brushed aside as the man placed himself in front of it. “Right, sorry. It’s just a friend — well, a colleague of sorts — we saw her go in just now.”

“A woman?” The man gave a nervous chuckle. “No, no you’re mistaken. There’s no woman here.”

“But we saw her!” Jenny protested.

“Listen, you’ve got to leave it, alright?” The old man requested, wringing his hands together.

“No, I don’t think we will,” said John, frowning at the suspicious turn events had taken. “Now stand aside so we can make sure Miss Noble’s alright, or I’ll have a real officer down here to speak with you.”

“Go and get an officer if you like. They won’t find nothing.”

There was a clicking noise and the door opened a crack.

“Gramps, are you out there?”

“Donna—”

“Miss Noble!” Jenny darted under his arm and through the door, which banged fully open to bathe John and the old man in a brilliant light.

“What…?”

“Oh, Donna, sweetheart, now you’ve gone and done it!”

“Jenny?  _ John _ ?”

Miss Noble stood framed in the doorway which led into a room. An impossible room.

It seemed to stretch farther back and to the sides than the box that contained it. He circled round the outside once just to be certain. Jenny had disappeared from the view through the doorway, so he hurried in and found her standing on the other side of some strange machine with buttons, dials, and levers all around it.

“How- how’s this possible? I mean it’s—”

“—bigger on the inside,” Jenny finished for him when he couldn’t find the words.

“Yeah, we’ve noticed,” Miss Noble observed. She heaved a sigh. “Okay, look, so I wasn’t entirely honest when I told you both about myself.”

They both looked to her. Miss Noble was looking at her grandfather, who shook his head. But she continued nonetheless.

“We are travelers. But we’re from the future.”

“What?”

“And a different planet,” she added.

“ _ What? _ ” John repeated.

“You’re aliens?” Asked Jenny.

“Yeah,” said Miss Noble. “Yeah, we are.”

“You shouldn’t be telling them this,” the old man scolded. “They’re not meant to know about other species yet. What’d you let them follow you for?”

“I didn’t know they were following me, did I? Look, who’s gonna believe them — no offense,” she said, turning to them again. “But you know people would say you’re mad if you told them what you’ve seen.”

“I’m not sure I’m not mad,” John murmured, looking around at the wide, mostly white room. There were little round things on the the walls. He had no idea what they did.

“No, no. This won’t do at all.” The old man walked up to the machine. He pressed a button, and the doors snapped shut.

“What are you doing?” Miss Noble asked, a note of warning in her voice.

“Well, we can’t leave them here, with what they’ve seen!”

“Gramps, just let them out. They’ll promise not to tell, right?” She directed the last word at them, a pleading look in her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter what they promise. The High Council’s got its ways, and they’re looking for us.” The old man wagged a finger at her. “I promised I’d keep you safe, so that’s the way it’s got to be.”

He reached for a lever.

Miss Noble started forward. “Gramps, no!”

Too late, the old man flipped it down. The whole room shuddered for a moment, and both John and Jenny reached to grab onto something as an engine seemed to hum to life. A central column of the mechanism pulsed up and down as the strangest grinding, wheezing noise filled their ears.

Something was happening to the box. He got the strangest sense that they were moving somehow. John and Jenny went down to the doors and found them locked. He raced back up to the old man.

“Mr. Noble—”

“Doctor, it’s Doctor,” the old man said.

“Doctor Noble—”

“Noble, ha!”

It occurred to John that the Noble name his department’s temporary secretary had given them was possibly entirely an alias, copped off a junkyard sign no less. Did aliens have last names?

“Doctor, then. Just what have you done? Where are you taking us?”

This Doctor refused to answer. John looked to Miss — Donna, just Donna — instead, who had a hand over her mouth and was refusing to face her grandfather.

“Anywhere. Anywhen. He can’t control it.”

“I’m learning,” the old man stubbornly insisted.

“Well learn faster and take them home!”

“Are we in space?” Jenny asked, sounding both fascinated and terrified at once.

“No, it’s the, uh, the time Vortex,” the Doctor answered. “But we might end up in space.”

“Might?  _ Might? _ ” John could hear his voice getting higher with each word. “You’re meaning to tell me you’ve just kidnapped me and my daughter and we  _ might _ be going to space?”

“Well, it could be Earth. Just not your time.”

The back of his legs hit a chair as he staggered back, and he sat down hard.

“Dad!” Jenny hurried over, but it was Donna who got to him first.

She crouched down, placing a hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry about this.” Her eyes were swimming with tears. This was why she’d turned him down, he realized, so he wouldn’t get mixed up in all this. But to think all this was her life!

Her grandfather kept looking over his shoulder, quick, guilty looks. There was a sudden  _ thud _ which forced the Doctor to hurriedly check all the controls.

“We’ve, uh, we’ve landed.” The old man looked at all their miserable faces and wrung his hands again. “Look, you’ve got to understand. I’ve got my family to look after, too. I’d have just made you forget if I were any good at it—”

“Made us?” Jenny repeated.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, sweetheart,” the Doctor assured her. “I barely passed that bit in school. I’d never just try it out on a human.”

John looked from him to Donna. They didn’t seem like malicious alien invaders. Nonetheless they’d taken him and Jenny from their home, their planet even. But what was this mysterious High Council that had the Doctor so worried for Donna? What were they running from? What would happen to them if they were found?

“Gramps, check the scanner,” Donna suggested as she stood back up. Her hand squeezed John’s arm once before falling away. “Maybe we’re only a few months off.”

The old man nodded hurriedly and flicked another switch. A screen came on, displaying a rocky terrain that did not look at all like Britain.

“Oh. Oh dear. Maybe if I try again—”

“No,” John decided. They all looked to him in shock.

“John?”

“We’re here, aren’t we?” He breathed in once through his nose and nodded to himself. “Might as well make the most of it.”

Jenny’s expression slowly morphed into a grin. “We can have a look around?”

“Well,” said the Doctor. He looked behind himself at a panel. “Well, theoretically yes. Atmosphere is good, levels stable. Wouldn’t hurt nothing.”

Jenny looked back to him, her grin even wider now. Donna was watching him with the most curious expression, like she wasn’t sure quite what to make of him.

John stood up. “I did always say I wanted to travel. I’d be a hypocrite not to, now.”

“Alright. Alright, I suppose we’ll take a bit of a walk around then. See what we make of the place,” said the Doctor. He looked rather relieved that the shouting and tears had ended. The Doctor hit another button and the doors opened slowly. “Well, after you then, Mister, er—”

“Professor,” said John. “Professor Smith.”

“Oh. Right then,” said the Doctor with a nervous chuckle.

John wasn’t at all sure of what he was doing. He was in an unknown place and time with aliens and no certain path home. But he needed to be strong, for Jenny’s sake at the least. They’d get through this.

And if Donna’s smile made his doubts that much quieter, that was alright, too.

Blimey, what a day to find out he’d fallen head over heels for an alien!


End file.
